Read 16 bit integer complex data

[Greg]

Hi,

I'm new to python, I don't have a whole lot of programming experience
aside from Matlab.  I hope you'll excuse my ignorance.

I'm trying to figure out how to read in 16 bit integer complex data.
Each 16 bits alternate, first 16 bits represent the real part of the
number, next 16 bits represent the imaginary.

I've looked at the "unpack" command, but from what I can tell it isn't
really efficient for a large data sample.

Is there a command or method around to read in large amounts of 16 bit
complex data?

Thanks in advance for your help,

Greg